Friday, May 1, 2009

Job Searching Shenanigans

Well, I did indeed manage to get my transcript here on time, and I went and took a test this morning to see if I can move along to the next part of the process of becoming a Disabilities Claims Adjudicator. They evaluate people's claims for disability benefits. I thought the part of the test I would struggle with was the medical terms, but as it turns out, those were easy compared to the grammar questions. You would think with a masters degree I would know when affect or effect is used, and such, but I don't. I need to have gotten 37/50 of the questions right in order to move on to an interview. I like this merit based system where I automatically get an interview if I pass the test. They are also hiring a lot of people, so that is good to hear.

The grammar skills of this morning made me laugh when I was watching Without a Trace while eating lunch just now. A "clue" they find is that someone wrote a note and used "your" instead of "you're", and they take this as a sign that the man who wrote the note is not a native English speaker. Um. Test 100 random American's and see how many of them know the difference between those two terms... I doubt that only those who are not native speakers will get it wrong.

Anyways, my current pet peeve about my job search is unclear, incomplete, or misleading minimum requirements. When I look at the OSU job site the first category I look in is "Required Qualifications". I look at them before I even look at the job description because I know that my application won't even be looked at if I do not meet them. I have now applied to two jobs in a row in which I meet all the requirements in the listing, but upon applying am asked about other experience that is not in the listing. While its not all the time consuming for me, it is still very frustrating.

People keep asking me, "What are you going to do next? What career do you want?" etc etc. The answer is, I don't know. Right now I am trying to get a job, save some money and buy some time to figure out if there is some other calling out their for me, but in all honesty I am not a calling type of girl. I do not have a passion, or at least none I have discovered. So, to all of you questioners - stop asking!! I am applying for lots of positions with universities and government organizations that I meet the minimum qualifications for and don't sound dreadful - everything from Academic Advisor to Utility Analyst to the person who goes from school to school trying to make sure they are staying on budget for the year. I am also looking at private companies but I have more trouble sorting out what they would think I am qualified for.

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